Decoy
by phantomworks
Summary: Yugi is a merchant's apprentice when his caravan is attacked by bandits. he's the only survivor and his life gets worse when he's made to take the place of the Pharaoh when threat of assassins arrise.
1. Chapter 1

Phantomworks: okay, next we have this one.

**Alice; another ancient Egypt one?**

Phantomworks; yeah well, the other will be an Mpreg so… this one won't.

**Alice; hm. Makes sense.**

Phantomworks; I don't own Yugioh or its characters, only this fic.

Chapter 1

"Come on, move faster! Faster if you want to get to the palace in time, grandson!" the elderly merchant cheered excitedly. He and his grandson were having a horse race as they headed to their destination. Even though his apprentice wasn't really his grandson, he liked to think they were family and the boy didn't mind at all. After all, there were some similarities… like their violet eyes.

"It's not fair! You're better at horse riding than I! Grampa wait up!" the boy drove his horse faster. It made no sense that an old man driving a horse hooked to a wagon load of cargo was winning against the young horseback rider.

They were nearly to the city gates now and the boy knew he was going to lose yet again. Suddenly arrows shot into the ground in front of them, scaring the horses. The animals reared up, throwing the boy off and nearly over turning the wagon of goods that were to be sold at market.

"Bandits!" the merchant called out in fear for his grandson's life. Dark cloaked figures jumped out from behind rocks and sand mounds- sometimes from the sand itself! "Yugi! Go to the palace! Get help! I'll hold them off as long as I can!"

Yugi jumped to his feet and took off, his horse long gone by now. His race lasted twenty minutes at least before he came to the palace gates, gasping for breath.

"Who goes there?" a guard brandished a sword.

"Yugi of the merchant's apprentice! Please you have to help us! We were attacked!" Yugi threw off his head to cool off a little. The guard's eyes widened.

"Ph-pharaoh?"

"What? No, Yugi! Please you must help!" Yugi tugged at the guard's arm and the man looked uncertainly at his partner. The other shrugged and the guard nodded.

"Show me where, apprentice!" the guard took off with Yugi leading him and his faithful dog by his side.

"This way!" Yugi raced away, probably faster than the guard, but his grandfather's life was in danger!

After about 15 minutes of running, the guard slowed, "Are you sure that you were attacked?"

"Yes! Yes we were! Just beyond this ridge. Just beyond-!" Yugi froze as his eyes landed on his grandfather's form… or what was left of it. Yugi gasped, crying out, "GRAMPA! NO!"

Yugi fell to his knees, the guard right behind him taking in the scene. The wagon was over turned, all the goods were gone and the horse was missing. In front of it lay the body of the old merchant, red blood staining the sand and making it form clumps.

Yugi crawled over to his teacher, tears falling silently down his face. He could tell that the man was dead; there was no tell-tale rise and fall of his chest to show he was breathing. Throat slit, the body laid mangled on the ground.

Something shined in the man's hand. Yugi slowly cracked the fist open to reveal two family crests. One was the man's own, torn from his robe, but the other Yugi didn't recognize. Taking them from the cold Yugi openly cried mournful sounds as he held them close to his heart. The guard stood a silent vigil until the sun was about to set.

"Hey, kid. We have to go before the gates close." The guard spoke up.

"Go ahead. I'm staying here." Yugi said.

"If you stay here, the bandits will come back or the wild animals will kill you! I'm not leaving you here." The guard grasped the boy's shoulder.

"No! I'm staying with Grampa! Let me go!" Yugi struggled against the guard.

"Do you really think that your grandfather would want you to give up the life that he saved? Think! Why did he send you ahead? To save his own grandson! Now don't give your life away meaninglessly! I won't allow it!"

Something in the guard's words made Yugi break down crying again, his will to fight gone. The guard sighed and slung the kid over his shoulder. With the sobbing body with him, the guard trailed back to the city gates and into the city grounds right before the gates closed for the night.

Little did Yugi know that as he finally fell into unconsciousness, he was headed to a place that would change his life forever.

The Palace.

Phantomworks; okay, for those who don't know, I'm going to post like 5+ stories for the poll.

**Alice; that's a lot…**

Phantomworks; yes. It is. So don't place your votes yet. You may find a better story. But please vote before Oct. 5th and I'll try to set up the poll… (still haven't figured it out. A little help anyone?)

**Alice: and tell them the other thing.**

Phantomworks: oh yeah. I made a face book page for 'phan tomworks'. I had to put in the name weird because it didn't like it, but I'll have it fixed soon. Anyone that wants to be my friend on this name, go ahead and friend request me. I'll be putting updates on story ideas or writer's block on there so you can suggest stuff to me.

**Alice: in 'Notes' only please.**

Phantomworks; oh yeah and look at my pics! They're YamiXYugi! (^^)


	2. Chapter 2

Phantomworks; okay, next story.

**Alice: oh! This one is the one with a lemon, right?**

Phantomworks;… um… yeah… but not until later chapters…

**Alice;… D***!**

Phantomworks;… okay then. I don't own Yugioh or its characters, only this fanfic.

Chapter 2

A cold chill woke Yugi up. He blinked his eyes open and shifted slightly, his skin scratched against rough stone. This sensation instantly woke him up. He sat up, looking around with slight curiosity and fear.

He was on a large stone slab that had weird markings surrounding him in a circle, with him as the center. Steps led down one way and only one hallway led to the room. The ceiling was high above his head, more than was supposed to be possible and there were openings for windows at the top. From them he could tell that is was almost mid-day.

Footsteps echoed off the walls of the circular room at the sound of them, the teen jumped, his eyes searching for the source of the noise. Dark cloaked priests (he knew they were because of their ceremonial robes) filed into the room, coming to a rest in a circle all around him and the slab. Yugi stood as the head priest, an old man with a solid gold eye stopped in front of him.

"Excuse me lord Priest, but can you tell me where I am?" Yugi asked timidly.

"You are in the palace of the Pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt. You were brought here last night by a guard. Your caravan was attacked by bandits and you were the last to survive. The Pharaoh has taken you in, but you must pay a price for staying here." The priest said coldly.

"?" Yugi stared at him, confused, as a low chanting began. The outer circle of marking lit up- flowing from where the other priests were standing, merged together and overflowed to the next ring of markings. "!"

Yugi took a step away from the markings but then took that step back for there were more behind him. "W-what are you d-doing?" he cried out fearfully.

"This is your payment. You will protect the Pharaoh with your life and you will do this by becoming the Pharaoh!" the priest proclaimed as the chanting grew louder and the markings grew brighter. Yugi's eyes began to burn as if on fire.

Crying out in pain, he covered his eyes, trying to somehow cool the raging fire that had sparked. The flames seemed to spread from his eyes to his hands, licking up any skin near them. Yugi cried out again as his limbs felt like they were being torn apart, stretched unnaturally as the fire licked its way across his skin.

Suddenly, his voice was cut off and he continued to scream silently until his mind became numb to the pain and he blacked out. When he came to, the fire was out and his vision blurred a little. He tried to bring a hand up to rub his eyes, but to his horror –he couldn't' make his body move. Was he dead?

"I must say that this is your best on yet!" a voice reached his ears as his vision slowly cleared. "You are getting better at this."

"It merely takes practice. We even saved a little energy on this one." Another voice commented. Yugi knew this voice. It was the priest from before.

"I commend you on your expertise, Akhnadin. (I think that's the name of the Millennium Eye priest, correct me if I'm wrong!). I expect well from you from now on." The new voice said. By now, Yugi could feel the binding spell that had been placed on him.

"Thank you, my Pharaoh. I hope you find controlling it easy and to your liking, my king." The priest complied.

_The pharaoh?_ Yugi's mind was working overtime as he tried to move against the binding spell. His fingers twitched slightly, a sign that the spell was starting to wear off.

"How easy is it to control?" the Pharaoh asked.

"Let us show you. Come forth, image of our Pharaoh!" the priest commanded Yugi. His legs obeyed on their own accord, slowly moving his body forward. Yugi struggled against the binding spell, the spell cracking the more he moved against it. "Halt."

"Easy I see." The Pharaoh said as he stepped forward to where Yugi's shadow fell across the stairs and stretched across the floor. Yugi watched him carefully, his hands shaking with the effort to break the spell.

"It is to your liking?" the priest asked.

The Pharaoh grinned and stepped on Yugi's shadow, "Yes, yes it is."

At that moment, three things happened.

First, the binding spell broke, setting Yugi free.

Second, Yugi's shadow pulled away from his body, which led to the final thing. The control of his own body…

Was ripped from Yugi's hands.

Phantomworks; aren't I evil?

**Alice; yes, we already know you are.**

Phantomworks; hee-hee.


	3. Chapter 3

Phantomworks;…. I don't own Yugioh or its characters, only this fanfic.

Chapter 3

His body moved after the Pharaoh, the older leading him through the Palace. Rarely, he caught glimpses of himself in mirrors along the hallways or some other reflective object like the solid gold statues that lined the halls.

The Pharaoh's priests had cast some sort of spell on Yugi to transform him into the Pharaoh's image. He was the Pharaoh now, and the real Pharaoh had somehow taken control of his body, forcing his to follow unspoken commands. Having power over his eyes only, Yugi was literally trapped within his own body. Seeing some servants, he could only stare at them pleadingly as they walked on.

Soon they came to an ornately decorated set of wood doors. The Pharaoh opened it for him and he moved in, unbidden. Servants were waiting on the inside for the Pharaoh.

"You know the usual." The Pharaoh waved them to their tasks, sitting down on a large bed. Yugi walked automatically to a small dresser that held dozens of gold ornaments on top of it. Sitting down on the small chair, Yugi finally got a look at himself in the mirror. He looked exactly like the Pharaoh! Well, he knew that, but he hadn't paid attention to the way they were nearly similar to each other before the transformation.

They had the same hair, his hair now wilder than before which went well with the ferocious red that his amethyst eyes had become. His pale tan was now a deep rich color and he was definitely taller.

Slowly, Yugi started to connect the various pains he had felt during the spell casting with his new features.

Darker skin and red eyes, the burning flames that had engulfed him. His limbs being torn apart, his sudden new growth spurt. It made sense now.

As he stared at the mirror, Yugi began to see less and less and less of himself as the servants adorned his body with gold. He looked more like the Pharaoh than the Pharaoh himself as the other was lying on the bed, little gold adorned. Suddenly, questions came to Yugi's mind.

Why was he here? Why hadn't the guard dropped him off at a near-by inn? Why did he wake up on the stone floor instead of a bed? Why was this happening to him? But the most important sprang to the front of his mind.

Would he stay this way forever?

Would he be trapped inside his body until the moment he died and his soul went to the afterlife? _Trapped… forever?_ Yugi's eyes welled up with tears and he closed them, retreating to far inside his mind, away from everything for perhaps the rest of eternity.

~Yami POV~

Yami stretched out on his bed with an appreciative groan as his muscles relaxed. His clone walked fluidly to the dresser as the servants started the dressing process. That was different. Usually they walked stiffly like their limbs were new or they would teeter and tall often.

What made this one different?

The priests could have gotten better, but he highly doubted that. They had done this hundreds of times before with the same results. Why would this time be different? Yami continued to contemplate it until he saw the identical red eyes move in the mirror's reflection of his clone. They flicked to what could be seen of him in the reflection then flicked back. Soon tears started to well up and the eyes closed, sealing off his contact with the strangely emotional orbs.

There had been fear.

Yami knew that he hadn't commanded the clone to close its eyes like he usually did. The blank stares creeped him out. But this one had closed its eyes and showed emotion. It was very different, strange…

Something was wrong.

Yami closed his eyes, focusing on the link between himself and the 'clone'. He didn't normally do this until it was time to start Court Day, but he had to know what was going on. Exhaling slowly, Yami let himself slip into his soul room and through the thread of the link that he had grasped. Inhaling, he opened his eyes in the 'clone's' soul room.

The room was well lit, by what he didn't know, but it was enough to see the details of the room. Light colored walls surrounded him showing an air of innocence along with some toys lying on the ground. There was a small well made wooden desk that showed talent thought not exactly in wood craft. On top of the desk was a bag of gold coins, a few of which were spilling over.

_A thief?_ Yami darkened at the though. Would he really let a thief go without punishment? A candle on the desk alit and flickered slightly. So the ''clone' knew of his presence? The candle also illuminated a set of scales with a few gold pieces in them, making them unbalances. Those were commonly used in the market place for purchasing or bartering for goods. A merchant then and a skilled one at that.

Yet he still didn't see the inhabitant of this particular room. A rustling sound drew his attention to the bed in the corner. The bed was a small thing, most likely the person, for he knew it was a clone no longer, was short or small in size. It was sturdy, decoratively carved, but not too detailed. This signaled that the person was easygoing.

If he had been lazy, the bed would've been grand and majestic for the love of sleep, much like Yami's physical bed. The opposite was true for a busy-body –a hard stone or metal bed with little comfort like Yami's soul room bed. However this person was neither, a good balance.

The rustling sound came again from the bed… or rather under it. Yami knelt and peered under it. A small bundle cowered along the far wall, covered in a rough blanket. They were obviously hiding, but from what?

"Hello?" the Pharaoh greeted. Part of the blanket shifted suddenly, surprised. Amethyst eyes looked at him in fright before they were hidden again and their owner scrambled away even more so until the wall stopped his escape. Slender legs now breached the blanket, the large piece of fabric wrapped wildly around the figure.

"I am Atem, the Pharaoh. What is your name?" Yami asked. There was no answer other than a flinch from the other and the sudden sensation of being pushed away though the smaller was no closer to him than before.

Yami pulled away from the bed, searching for something that would answer the mystery. A few pieces of papyrus lay on the desk innocently and Yami called them to himself with an unspoken command. The hovered, lifted by magic and started to him quickly. Half-way there they wavered and then came to a stop. Concentrating, he commanded them forward. Obeying, they came forward, only to stop and back up again.

It soon became a way between Yami's mind and the other's. Suddenly they flew to the far wall and hit said wall, falling to the ground. Yami grimaced, standing up and walking to the papyrus. As he picked them up, he said, "That wasn't very nice, you know! I just wanted to know your name!"

After no answer was forthcoming, he turned his attention to the papyrus.

Phantomworks; not much of a cliffhanger huh?

**Alice; or a chapter.**

Phantomworks; don't worry people; the next one will be a lot funner.

**Alice: I think that you should know as a writer that 'funner' isn't a word.**

Phantomworks; oh yeah? Well I found 'ain't' in the dictionary. What do you say to that?

**Alice: (O_O)? … what is this world coming to?**


	4. Chapter 4

Phantomworks; and you thought I was done. (^^) nope, still got a long way to go. I don't own Yugioh or its characters, only this fanfic.

Ch 4

Yami's eyes widened as it seemed the papyrus had answered him silently.

_**Not nice? You're not nice! Why would you do this to me? What did I do to deserve this? What did I do to have bandits ambush me and kill Grampa? What did I do to be taken to this Ra-forsaken place and be tortured like this? Nothing! I did nothing at all!" **_the words scribbled themselves in hieroglyphs and ink onto the papyrus.

"Ra-forsaken? This is the palace! The home of the Pharaoh! It cannot be Ra-forsaken!" Yami exclaimed.

_**Does the sun god burn my flesh for something I have not done? Light my eyes on fire for a sin I did not commit? Tear my limbs apart even though I am innocent? I should think not!" **_ The writing became angry, the previous message erasing as more was written.

"I don't understand, when did this happen?" Yami asked.

_**Like you don't know! Those were your priests! I recognized them when I woke up here after Grampa…**_ the words trailed off, ink flowing effortlessly as the other was trapped in the realm of his memories. The ink formed a picture and the picture began to move, showing the other's point of view as he rode on horseback after his grampa. Yami could hear the wind and pound of horse hooves.

Suddenly, the scene took a turn for the worse, bandits pouring out onto their two-person caravan. The grandfather told 'Yugi' to run, saying he'd hold them off, but Yami could see in the old man's eyes that he was lying. No one could hold off that many bandits alone.

The scene fast forwarded to outside his city gates, the quick conversation with the guard and back to the heart-wrenching scene of the murder. Yami looked away from the scene to collect himself before turning back.

Another change of scene, now in the room in which Yami had first seen 'Yugi'. His priest filed in and after a brief monologue from Akhnadin, Yugi cried out in pain. The scene went black completely, but the sounds didn't stop there. Yami could even feel an echo of the pain the other felt.

Tears came to Yami's eyes as he dropped the papyrus which flew to their place on the desk. The other had really been through all that? He was surprised Yugi was even sane after what the little one had gone through. And he himself was the cause? Yami quickly dried his eyes and returned to the bed, kneeling and squirming underneath it.

"Hey." Yami called out to Yugi who was still pressed to the wall, "I'm sorry for what you have been through Yugi, but-"

"H-how do you know my name?" Yugi called out in a frightened voice, his eyes appearing from the blanket folds again. Yami's breath caught in his throat as the bell voice drifted to his ears.

"From your memories little one. Your grandfather called your name when he told you to run." Yami explained, "I could tell that he was a good man and that you hold much respect for him.

"How could you know? You have never met him." Yugi snapped back. He was trembling now, from wither anger or shock, Yami didn't know.

"Again from your memories, Yugi." Yami said, reaching out a hand to comfort the other. Yugi flinched away from it, somehow able to move further away when he was right at the wall. "Must be manipulating his own soul to get away. That could badly hurt him." Yami thought.

"Yugi! I'm sorry for what my priests have done to you. If I had known, I wouldn't have let them get away with it, I swear upon my name as Pharaoh!" Yami swore. Yugi locked eyes with his own, seeking truth. If it had been anyone else, Yami would've had them beheaded or at least their eyes gorged out for looking the Pharaoh in the eyes, but Yugi wasn't just anyone.

"I'm sorry that your grandfather died as well. Had I known that bandits lurked outside the palace gates, I would have had them found and executed before you ever came this way." Yami vowed. His hand secreted its way to Yugi's form.

"R-really?" Yugi looked uncertain still even as Yami grasped his wrist. Instantly, the younger struggled against the restraining hand, but Yami refused to let him go. Instead he drew the younger closer, in the process unraveling the blanket from his captive. Now Yami could see how similar they really were.

The smaller had the same hair though the blonde bangs looked tamer and instead of crimson, the black had a violet sheen to it. His skin was paler, thought still had a tan and his amethyst eyes were closed as tears ran down his cheeks.

The older struggled and got them both out from under the bed. Once out, he set them both down on the small bed and trapped Yugi in his arms as the little one once again tried to escape. Yami wasn't about to let go.

"Sh, Yugi, sh. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." Ami tried to comfort the smaller, but to no avail. So he decided to just let the other wear himself out. It only took a few minutes for the little one to go from frantically trying to escape to hopeless pitiful crying in Yami's arms. Slowly, Yami rubbed circles in the little one's back in soothing motions.

"Will you listen to me now?" Yami asked when Yugi had grown quiet. Eventually, Yugi nodded his head slightly, not daring to look up into Yami's eyes. Yami breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you. Now as I was saying, I'm not going to hurt you Yugi. You have nothing to fear from me."

"W-what ab-bout-?" Yugi started, his voice trembling with effort.

"The priests?" Yami finished, the other nodding his head again, his bangs brushing the Pharaoh's chest. "You will have nothing to fear of them either. I will insure that you are not mistreated here at the palace."

"R… really?" Yugi pressed himself closer to the warmth and comfort that was surrounding him. Yami tightened his grip on Yugi.

"Yes, but before that we must get through the open court day today. Villagers com to me with their problems and I listen and fix them as I see fit. However, assassins often use this as a chance to target me. The priests usually make a clone to take my place in case the assassin gets past the guards." He felt Yugi tense in his arms.

"Is that why this happened to me? Why they changed me?" Yugi's voice quivered.

"Unfortunately yes." Yami rubbed Yugi's back soothingly again, "and that's not the worst part. Not all of the clones… return…

Phantomworks; du-du-duh!

**Alice; haven't you left us with enough cliff hangers?**

Phantomworks; um… nope. I still have about 250 left on my limit.

**Alice; what?**

Phantomworks: yeah, I do have a limit… but it resets every day so there is never enough cliff hangers.

**Alice; … I hate you.**

Phantomworks; I know. (^^)


	5. Chapter 5

Phantomworks: I don't own Yugioh or its characters, only this fanfic.

Chapter 5

"Wh-what?" Yugi was once again struggling in the cage that the embrace had become. "No! I don't' want to die! Haven't you done enough? Isn't it enough to have me stuck like this forever?"

"Wha-Yugi? What are you talking about? Stuck like what?" the Pharaoh was severely confused, but held fest, refusing to let go of the struggling teen.

"Like this! Trapped in my body and not even myself! You transformed me and trapped me like this for forever! And no you want to kill me too?" Tears streamed down Yugi's face as he tried to escape and gain control of his own body through he knew both were hopeless.

"Trapped? You're not trapped like this." Yami was trying to figure out exactly what Yugi was going on about and hoped he said the right words. Abruptly, the smaller froze in his arms.

"Not? Trapped?" the picture that Yugi presented right now, tears in his eyes and a desperate pleading look, made Yami's mouth go dry. He swallows thickly and nodded, not quite trusting his voice. The smaller teen buried his face back into Yami's chest. The pharaoh took a deep breath to calm his nerves and continued.

"You are merely under a spell that will wear off in time. Its life is less than a day so by nightfall you should be back to normal. However I still need to go to the courts today. Will you be willing to help me out?" again the other tensed in his arms. "The quicker court day ends, the quicker you are released from this prison." Yami reminded him.

Yugi seemed to think it over before forcing himself to relax. Slowly he nodded his approval and Yami loosened his grip on the teen. The other looked up at him determination burning in his eyes, "what do I do?"

Yami prepared himself for the next feat, "You will have to give yourself over completely."

"Wh-wha-how?" Yugi didn't really want to know what that meant, only how to do it so that he could be freed. Yami turned the other around in his lap so the little one's back was to his chest. He wrapped one arm across the smaller and with his other hand; he covered the beautiful amethyst eyes. Yugi tensed with the unexpected darkness it brought.

"Close your eyes," Yami whispered in the smaller's ear, causing the other to shiver, "And trust me."

Yugi obeyed, still frightened at what it could do to him. The pharaoh closed his eyes as well and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he saw himself in the mirror. A reflection. He waved the servants off and stood, getting used to the feeling.

It still felt as though he was back in the soul room, holding Yugi close while he walked to his bed and snatched an extra key to his chambers. Even when the little one tensed- he could still feel it. He walked by his body without even a glance. It freaked him out to be moving when his body was 'asleep'.

The heavy doors to his chambers closed behind him and he locked them. Slipping the extra key into his pocket, he guided the makeshift body to the throne room and prepared himself for the long day ahead. _**Yugi, you can open your eyes if you want.**_ He thought.

Feeling a ping of fear from the other, Yami noticed only a slight difference when Yugi's eyes opened as opposed to when they were closed. He felt Yugi examine everything with curiosity through 'Yami's' eyes, though the smaller could no longer control them.

As Yami walked past a guard and a few of his priests, he glared at them, feeling Yugi flinch, "We have something to discuss later, my _priests_." Yami growled, sending comfort to Yugi. "For now, make sure that not a single harm comes to this body. Double the guard duty around the throne room."

With that he turned and went to his throne, settling upon it and making himself comfortable. Once he had tended to Yugi, calming down the other from his panic, he ordered the guards to let the people in. it took hours to get though the largest portion of the crowd. Many complaints were the same, quarrels in the market place, taxes too high, prices for fish too low, etc. etc.

After a quick break, Yami ordered the next group in. it was a merchant group from a neighboring country that wanted to make a treaty to sell goods in the Egyptian marketplace. He felt Yugi tense again, sending a warning to the Pharaoh.

_My pharaoh! That man! He's-! _Yami trained his eyes on the 'bodyguard' of the caravan. He saw a glint of metal and of evil intentions in the man's eyes. "Guards! Arrest that man!" Yami ordered. The assassin blinked in surprised before leaping into action. Several guards were already positioning themselves around their ruler but the assassin broke through, blood flew as his dagger made contact with the body of the ruler.

Yami shot up from his bed, sweat pouring down his face. He sprang from the bed, his bedroom doors flying open and slamming against the wall as he was long gone. The pharaoh skidded to a halt in the throne room. He gasped and cried out, "YUGI!"

Pw:…..

**Alice; what? What? You can't leave it like that! That should be against the rules!**

Pw: oh, but it's not. (Evil cackling)

_Yugi; She sc-cares me. (Clings to Yami)_

**Yami: I know, Aibou, she scares me too.**


End file.
